Rupes Mini

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mrasmussen

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I just picked up a Rupes 21, I have some large vehicles and boat. After watching many videos and reading, I am going to pull the trigger on a smaller machines to compliment my arsenal. I am planning on the Rupes Mini at this point.

my question is, I don't see anything smaller than a 4" pad from Rupes for this device. Is that small enough to detail most cars? I don't do this professionally, I work on my three vehicles plus my boat.
 
Hello mrasmussen, The 4" pad is small enough to get into areas such as outside mounted mirrors, bumper frontal and rear areas, liscence plate. I just got to use my Rupes mini 75e the other day, and was very pleased with the polisher, using Rupes 4" white finishing pad to apply Pinnacle Liquid Souverign. Good results. Hope this info helps you.
 
It can manage to get corners the 21mm can't. Get either
Along with tail panels and bumpers
I'll eventually switch my pads to BS Low Pros when they come out with the smaller pads
 
If you have intricate curves, I would consider the Flex PE8 Kompakt that can spin a 1", 2" and 3" pads. Oh, and at half the price of the Mini. Don't get me wrong, I love the Mini, but on narrow curves it will stall.

Don't let the PE8 scare you because it's a rotary. Smooth as butter for precision buffing. Just keep it moving and stay away from edges and you'll be fine.
 
custmsprty said:
I agree. I love the Mini, I can't say the same for the PE 8.

I personally have not experienced and stalling issue with the Mini at all.
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What is it that you don't like about the PE8 excluding the trigger. A 1" pad with an extension can get into areas that a 4" cannot. BTW like I said, I love the Mini, but the PE8 can get into areas that the Mini cannot. Feed back please
 
I went with the Mini, I will report back once I actually use the tool. If there are areas I can't get with the two tools, I'll try to buff those areas by hand for now. Down the road if this is something I enjoy doing I will add tools as I go.

Right now I spent around 1200 for a good starter kit, which is about what it would cost for my three vehicles to be detailed once. I can detail them myself and my boat as many times as I want!
 
Cabrio said:
:iagree: I've never had my mini stall.
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When I say stall, I don't mean stopping completely. On narrow or intricate curves it will stop spinning, but it will still oscillate. A lot of us wished that Rupes would come out with a forced rotation Mini. This would eliminate the stalling on tight curves. Maybe next year at SEMA.:props:
 
Rsurfer said:
When I say stall, I don't mean stopping completely. On narrow or intricate curves it will stop spinning, but it will still oscillate. A lot of us wished that Rupes would come out with a forced rotation Mini. This would eliminate the stalling on tight curves. Maybe next year at SEMA.:props:
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Hi Rsurfer - I hear ya :)

With my mini I haven't experienced the stall but it may be because I haven't run into some of the angles or curves that you have. That said, on my garage queen, I have a few spots where my 15 Mark II has stalled on vertical panels. These spots are tricky and I have to play with it. I watched a video from a previous post on this and sure enough the Mark II stalled on a van above the rear wheel. The OP of the said video used his mini to polish that area. Then again, this is definitely not the type of curves or angles that you are experiencing the stall with the mini.
 
mrasmussen said:
...Right now I spent around 1200 for a good starter kit, which is about what it would cost for my three vehicles to be detailed once. I can detail them myself and my boat as many times as I want!
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I like your thinking. That's how I go about my business, too.
 
The Mini runs so fast at top speed I really don't see this issue often, but also don't lose sight of one important fact: stalled rotation does not mean you're not correcting, just means your correction speed or capability is diminished. Movement is movement; oscillation, rotation, or both. So if rotation stops the 12mm of orbit on the mini is still at work so don't misinterpret stalled rotation as a complete lack of work. Generally in these tight areas you'll encounter lighter defects anyways.
 
I also love my mini. I enjoy using it more than my Rupes 15ES. But there are areas I cannot reach with the mini and I would polish by hand with an applicator.
 
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